Grind

On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., local authorities will take part in National Drug Take Back Day, collecting expired and unused medication for safe disposal.

Early voting ahead of Election Day, Nov. 3, begins on Saturday and continues through Nov. 1. In East Hampton, it will be held at the Windmill Village housing complex at 219 Accabonac Road, and in Southampton on the Stony Brook Southampton campus at 70 Tuckahoe Road.

After cancelling its popular in-person pumpkin-carving contest due to Covid-19, the Bridgehampton Lions Club is still holding the event this weekend. As the Lions put it, the contest is "glowing on," only on Instagram instead of on site.

There's an unusual scavenger hunt called Art Foray going on right now at East Hampton's LongHouse Reserve.

Kilian Ruckriegel, 12, and Sophia Cosmina Ruckriegel, 14, the Springs siblings who held a paddle-out in Amagansett this summer to support inclusion in surfing, are continuing their advocacy efforts by organizing a remote screening of the documentary "White Wash," which will be followed by a panel discussion.

Public libraries across the South Fork are taking part in the Great Give Back, a community service initiative of the Suffolk Cooperative Library System that gives patrons an opportunity to participate in service-oriented activities on Saturday, Oct. 17.

The Bridgehampton School this week launched a school-spirit clothing sale on the website Fancloth. Fans of the Killer Bees can order T-shirts, sweatshirts, leggings and sweatpants, pajama pants, caps, duffel bags, and other items, all outfitted with the school name and mascot.

Today, Oct. 15, is the last day for people to complete the United States census, the once-per-decade population survey that figures prominently into government funding for schools, transportation, emergency services, health care, housing, and other key programs.

The League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and the North Fork will sponsor candidates debates for New York's First Congressional District and State Senate District next week.

Get those pumpkins and tools ready — it's almost time for the Bridgehampton Lions Club's annual pumpkin-carving contest.

The New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and Students for Climate Action will co-host a virtual town hall event with the candidates for New York’s First and Second Congressional Districts on Tuesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. 

Friday, Oct. 9, is the deadline to register to vote in the November general election. Here is how to make sure you can do so, be it in person or by absentee ballot.

This year's recipient of the Wainscott Business Community Award from the hamlet's citizens advisory committee is the Clubhouse, the restaurant and entertainment center on Daniel's Hole Road that has also served as a food pantry and school campus during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The committee has given awards since 2012, an idea of its late former chairman Rick Del Mastro, to recognize businesses that are leaders here and those that contribute positively to its aesthetics.

Project Most will hold a fund-raising toy sale on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the East Hampton Neighborhood House at 92 Three Mile Harbor Road.

Toys for children ages 2 and up, such as dolls, sports equipment, trucks, and video games, will be available for purchase for as little as $2 each.

All proceeds support Project Most, which runs educational programs for children here during the school year, on weekends, and in the summer.

New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. this week announced he is seeking nominations from local high schools for the Presidential Scholars program, which has recognized outstanding students since 1964 when then-President Lyndon Johnson created the program. The state is also seeking nominations of students who excel in career and technical education for an additional award.

The nonprofit organization I-Tri, which fosters empowerment, self-esteem, and healthful lifestyle choices among teen and pre-teen girls on the East End, is planning a bicycle ride with an optional lunch and wine tasting as a fund-raiser on Oct. 10.

For dog owners on the South Fork, the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons Stroll to the Sea is usually among the most anticipated events of Columbus Day weekend, but this year, like so many other things, the popular fund-raising event will go virtual.

The Young Adult Ministry at the First Baptist Church of Bridgehampton will hold a voter registration drive on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center. 

Anyone who wants to vote in the upcoming general election is welcome to wear a mask and observe social distancing at 551 Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton in order to complete the registration process.

Southampton Town's Great East End Clean-Up will take place on Saturday and Sunday, having been rescheduled from the spring because of Covid-19.

The East Hampton Library wants teens in grades nine through 12 to make the best of a beautiful season with its Fall Bucket List Challenge.

Here's how it works: capture memorable moments from the library's list in selfies and email them to the young adult librarians. That's it! 

The bucket list includes pumpkin picking, carving a jack o'lantern, hiking, watching a scary movie, navigating a corn maze, and other fun fall activities.

The email address for submissions is [email protected].

High tides may be responsible for elevated bacteria levels in multiple East Hampton Town waterways, according to data compiled by Concerned Citizens of Montauk. 

CCOM also reported this week that a bloom of toxic cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, has dissipated in Montauk’s Fort Pond, but that compromised water body remains at high risk for a harmful algal bloom due to elevated cell concentrations. 

The Police Departments of Southampton Town and Quogue Village will offer free car seat safety checks at Kmart in Bridgehampton on Saturday.

High school students on the East End are invited to join the Retreat's eight-week Teen Leaders program, which starts Wednesday and runs through Nov. 18.

For National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and North Fork will be providing voter information at tables set up across the East End. 

Before the start of the school year, the Sagaponack organization Supplies for Success announced it had donated 20,000 backpacks filled with new school supplies to local children whose families cannot afford them.

Since Mindy Richardson established the organization in 2002, Supplies for Success has helped 135,000 underserved local children. And since March 5, 2020, when Ms. Richardson's son Eric died in a ski accident, the organization has responded to the pandemic in his honor. 

A candlelight vigil will be held Saturday to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the U.S. Supreme Court justice and feminist icon who died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer at the age of 87.

The Montauk Library has announced that it has a new Print Budii photo printer kiosk available for library patrons and other guests that will print 4x6 color photos from their computers, laptops, iPads, tablets, or phones.

The process is easy, and can be done anywhere. Go to LibraryPhotoLab.com, select Montauk Library as your location, and follow the prompts. A pin number will be given when you arrive and photos can be printed immediately.

The cost is 50 cents and payment is through the website. 

A coalition of community members and immigrants’ rights organizations will drive across Long Island on Thursday to encourage residents to complete their Census forms. The East End continues to have some of the lowest Census response rates in New York State.

New York State's school Covid-19 reporting system is now online. The publicly accessible website allows visitors to look up school districts by name or address.

The system can be accessed at schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov. As of Monday morning, none of the South Fork school districts, from Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor through Montauk, had any cases to report.

The Accabonac Protection Committee will host its next online forum, featuring Christopher Gobler, an expert in water contaminants, and Alison Branco, who specializes in sea level rise, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. 

Dr. Gobler will discuss how nutrients like nitrogen, as well as abundant contaminants, “are entering both our underwater aquifer system, from which our drinking water is drawn, as well as our surface water bodies, including Accabonac Harbor,” according to the committee.